Wayne’s Family Medicine Interest Group wins third national excellence award

The American Academy of Family Physicians named the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Family Medicine Interest Group a 2017 Program of Excellence Award winner for their outstanding activities in generating interest in Family Medicine.

Winners were honored July 28 at the AAFP National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City.

Family Medicine Interest Groups, or FMIGs, are medical school-sponsored, student- and faculty-run organizations that give medical students a chance to learn more about Family Medicine through regular meetings, workshops, leadership development opportunities, and community and clinical experiences.

The School of Medicine received the Program of Excellence Award in 2012 and 2013 as well.

Several students attend the conference on scholarship. Additionally, fourth-year medical student Sway Wu was elected as the national student delegate for the AAFP, having served as the Michigan delegate and a member of the Student and Resident Committee at an earlier national conference, where she drafted several mental health resolutions that were approved for further action, said Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Career Development Margit Chadwell, M.D., who is the WSU Family Medicine Interest Group’s faculty advisor.

“Sway has demonstrated an active and growing interest in Family Medicine throughout her medical school training. She is thoughtful, enthusiastic and a solid student academically,” Dr. Chadwell said. “In Family Medicine, she has discovered a blueprint for her life’s work as a physician. Given her experience and special interest in health education and advocacy, she will be a valuable asset to the AAFP representing the student perspective.”

The Program of Excellence Awards recognize FMIGs for their efforts to promote interest in Family Medicine and Family Medicine programming – 10 for overall performance and seven for collaboration, community service, promoting primary care and most improved FMIG. The program received a record number of entries this year, the AAFP said.

The WSU School of Medicine was recognized in the Overall Performance category, along with FMIGs from the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine at University of Iowa; James H. Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University; University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine; University of Washington School of Medicine; University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita; Oregon Health and Science University; University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine and The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

“The FMIGs we honor this year have gone above and beyond allowing students to put into practice the knowledge they’ve acquired in the classroom,” said Clif Knight, M.D., senior vice president for Education in a AAFP release. “These programs help students develop leadership skills that will serve them in their future practices and communities, and better understand the vital role that Family Medicine plays in our health care system.”

The winners’ applications are listed online to facilitate the sharing of best practices and programming ideas among FMIGs nationwide.

Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 129,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.